Phosphorus Regulation: A Paper Industry Perspective Wisconsin River Water Quality Symposium March 29, 2012

Transcription

1 Phosphorus Regulation: A Paper Industry Perspective Wisconsin River Water Quality Symposium March 29, 2012 By John Piotrowski Director, Environmental Operations Packaging Corporation of America 1

2 Forest Products Industry & Communities Cities that began w/ FPI mills Stevens Point 1847 Wausau 1852 Grand Rapids 1868 Centralia 1874 Merrill 1881 Nekoosa 1883 Tomahawk 1891 Brokaw 1906 Port Edwards Mosinee 1910 Rothschild

3 River Before Biological Treatment 3

4 River After Biological Treatment 4

5 Phosphorus & Mill Effluent Treatment Raw mill effluent BOD range: <500 >1,200 mg/l BOD treatment: biological nutrient requirements Nitrogen: 5 lb N per 100 lb BOD Phosphorus: 1 lb P per 100 lb BOD Treated mill effluent >95% BOD reduction 5

6 Activated Sludge Treatment & Phosphorus Demand 1,000 lb BOD yields ~500 lb biomass & needs 5 lb P Ex. 65,000 lb treated BOD 32,500 lb biomass 32,500 lb biomass requires 325 lb P Assume 240 lb/d P in raw effluent: Then 325 lb demand 240 lb input = 115 lb P deficit AST mills must add P to maintain healthy biomass AST-type treatment typical at many WI paper mills 6

7 Anaerobic Treatment & Phosphorus Demand 1,000 lb BOD yields 100 lb biomass & needs 1 lb P 65,000 lb BOD 6,500 lb biomass 6,500 lb biomass requires 65 lb P Assume 240 lb/d P in raw effluent: Then 65 lb demand 240 lb input = 175 lb P surplus AnT mills must remove P to meet discharge limit AnT-type treatment NOT typical at paper mills 7

8 AST v AnT Comparison AST 65,000 lb BOD input 32,500 lb biomass produced Phos demand = 325 lb If mill input = 240 lb P/d Then supplemental P needed AnT 65,000 lb BOD input 6,500 lb biomass produced Phos demand = 65 lb P If mill input = 240 lb P/d Then surplus P 8

9 Biogas collection system 9

10 Mill Phosphorus Balance Virgin Fiber (290 lb/d P) Recycled Fiber (80 lb/d P) Corrosion Inhibitor (20 lb/d P) Raw Water (3 lb/d P) Corrugating Medium (217 lb/d P) Mill NCCW (4 lb/d P) Raw effluent (174 lb/d P) Leachate (1 lb/d P) Sanitary (1 lb/d P) Sludge (67 lb/d P) WTP WTP Outfall (107 lb/d P) [~2.25 mg/l TP] 10

11 Process Outfall: Variance Study Source minimization: eliminated all but 1 source Bio-P removal: AnT too effective to support it Metal salt precipitation 20X MR w/ Fe 2 Cl 3 = ~ 1.5 mg/l discharge not reliable Competing anions impede PO4 3- precipitation $7.6 million capital + $5.4 million annual O&M 11

12 Process Outfall 12-Mo Rolling Avg mg/l

13 PCA Phosphorus Permit Limit History 1998: Initial variance = 4.0 mg/l 1999 modification = 3.5 mg/l 2003 NPDES permit = 2.6 mg/l 2010 NPDES permit = 2.0 mg/l 13 Limit = weighted avg of 2 outfalls

14 Industry Phosphorus Removal Options Pulp/paper AST phos discharges are < 1.0 mg/l Add-on technologies needed to meet lower limits Potential conventional treatment add-ons Have been used in some municipal plants Biological phos removal Chemical precipitation + coagulation Clarification + filtration Adaptive management option triggered if filtration (or equivalent) required 14

15 Exotic Methods Phosphorus Removal Research-type technologies Qualifiers Applicability is speculative Unknown reliability High capital and O/M costs Examples Carbon adsorption Membrane filtration Ion exchange Reverse osmosis 15

16 Some of the things we fear... Chronic WTP upsets due to P deficiency Must operate at levels <compliance limit Sludge generation, handling & management Investment & downstream impairment persists Wringing results solely from point sources 16

17 Phos WQC: 3 rd Party Observation In my experience, no existing pulp/paper facility in WI can currently achieve this low an effluent TSS. To meet this effluent TSS level, a tertiary treatment process would be required, such as effluent filtration. At the high wastewater flows of most paper/pulp facilities, this cost would be prohibitive. You are welcome to quote me. The above is just rational science and reality. Dr. Michael Richard, PhD 1/9/

18 WI River: Rhinelander to Nekoosa Phosphorus Vectors Pulp/paper sector Avg = 166,220 lb 1 Pulp/paper sector 2011 estimate ~128,000 lb 2 Non-Point most likely total = 630,573 lb 3 Implications Problem w/ traditional regulatory approach Big tool for small problem & vice versa TMDL approach not perfect, but better 1 Source: DNR, point source average 2 Source: Ibid, minus mill closures since Source: DNR, PRESTO long-term regression estimate at Nekoosa, WI WWTP 18

19 700, , ,000 Paper Industry Point Source Range W i s c o n s i n 400, , , ,000 L a k e T o m a h a w k D e l l s 0 Non-point Load (lb) Point Source Load (lb)

20 Problem Problem Solving Problem Solving Risk 20

21 WI River TMDL Study scope: Rhinelander to Lake Wisconsin Objectives: Improve water quality & attain standard Determine impact of P discharge on WI River water quality Derive Waste Load Allocations for point dischargers Derive Load Allocations for non-point sources Determine impact from sources upstream of impairment Accurately link P sources to biological effects Complete in ~ 4 years 21

22 TMDL Collaboration Involve point/non-point sources Employ a science-based approach Technical expertise from: WDNR National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Modeling Consultant(s) 22

23 Cumulative Regulatory Burden Boiler MACT GHG Regs Paper Industry NO 2 NAAQS Therm Stds 23

24 Wisconsin River Mills Wausau Papers Rhinelander Packaging Corp of America Tomahawk International Papers Merrill Wausau Papers Brokaw Domtar Rothschild Wausau Papers Mosinee New Page St. Point, Biron, WI Rapids Neenah Papers - Whiting Domtar Nekoosa, Port Edwards 24

25 55000 WI Pulp/Paper Industry Employment Trend ~ $1.1 billion P/P wage loss ~$3.2 billion wage loss (P/P-dependents) Source: WI Workforce Development

26 Questions? 26